


The Silver Lining's Been Tarnished

by safetypin



Category: Bandom, Blink-182, Cobra Starship, Fall Out Boy, Green Day, Gym Class Heroes, Mindless Self Indulgence, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Paramore, The Academy Is...
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, GSAs, Gen, Gender/Sexuality Alliance, M/M, Multi, This is gonna be weird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-11 11:16:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11147313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/safetypin/pseuds/safetypin
Summary: New kids, old friends, college applications and annoying teachers. Follow Dallon Weekes, William Beckett, Frank Iero, and Andy Hurley on their queer adventures navigating high school and their GSA.





	1. First Day

**Author's Note:**

> I should be working on Through a Long Hallway, but hey, why not add a little to my repertoire.

The first day of High School is nerve wracking for any Freshman. For Dallon Weekes, anxiety was already high. As a new student in the district, and a new resident in the small town of Northfield, NY, Dallon had no idea where he was going. He also knew none of his classmates, which he hoped to be able to use to his advantage.

With the schedule and map of the school his mom had gotten in the mail last week, Dallon set off to his first class of the day; Early European History with Mr. Hoppus. Room 136, first floor, near the Administration and the nice but overly stressed Guidance Counselor, Ms. Pope. 

High School hallways are not comforting. They are meant to be sterile and encourage students to move along to their classes. They never are, and the people who hang out in them rarely have anywhere else to go. Dallon had tended to be one of those people back in middle school, but he hoped he would be able to outgrow that this year. 

But High School hallways also had a habit of filling up within a matter of seconds, and if you were a minute too late or thirty seconds too early, you could easily be trampled. Thanks to a previously set up 504 plan, Dallon was allowed to leave classes early enough to get to his next class right before the bell rang. This would usually allow him to travel the halls in the quiet, or perhaps while listening to music. 

Even at the early hour of 7:15 am, a full five minutes before first bell, the halls of Northfield High were almost as crowded as they would be during a lunch hour. Dallon wondered if that was normal for the school’s mornings, or if it was a first day sort of thing. It had also struck him as odd that there were no homerooms in Northfield, though it had been explained away as a time saver. All the information usually passed through homeroom teachers would be given out via first period teachers instead.

Upon arrival at room 136, Dallon found a room filled with bright hair and people shorter than him. That wasn’t unusual, the being the tallest part. However, most of the students who had arrived earlier than Dallon had dyed hair, which was usual. the only two in the predominantly empty classroom with undyed hair were to boys sat next to a girl with bleached hair. While there didn't seem to be assigned seats, there was an empty chair at their cluster of desks. 

“Excuse me, would you mind if I sit here?” Dallon asked the blond and the friends she was talking to. She turned around, conversation stalled. Her mouth closed and formed a smile as she looked up at him. Her yellow and blue eyeshadow was startling, but well done. Dallon liked it.

“Sorry, what was that?” The blond asked.

“Oh, uh, can I sit with you guys?” Dallon adjusted the backpack strap on his shoulder. 

“Sure, we can always use fresh faces here. You’re new, right?” She asked as Dallon sat down.

“Yeah, I’m Dallon. Was it that obvious?” He put his bag down at his feet, pulling out his History binder.

“Everyone here has been in the same classes as each other since kindergarten. I’m Zac, it’s nice to meet you, Dallon.” Zac held out a hand to shake. His hair was hidden by a grey knit beanie and his face was round, but his warm smile was why Dallon easily returned his greeting.

“I’m Hayley,” The blonde introduced herself. “And that’s Taylor. They use they/them pronouns.” She gestured to the other boy sitting with them.

“I’m sorry if this is rude, but what do you mean by “they” pronouns?” He wasn’t sure what Hayley’s context was. He knew that pronouns are what you use to refer to a person with, but, they and them are used to refer to multiple people, not just one.

“I use they/them singular pronouns. When you refer to me, I’d prefer if you said “They want,” or “They like,” things like that.” Taylor spoke up for the first time. He - no, they, were soft spoken, but what they had to say made sense. 

“Oh, okay. I promise I’ll do my best to use the right ones. If I mess up, please feel free to correct me.” Dallon didn’t want to offend Taylor or their friends, who would hopefully become friends to him over time. 

“Cool, thanks.” They smiled, it was a pretty smile. Dallon couldn’t help but think that their friend group all had pretty smiles. Just as Dallon turned away from Taylor, a tall man walked into the room. He was probably their teacher, Dallon thought. Mr. Hoppus.

“Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Early European History. I know not many of you are excited to take this class, but it is a requirement if you want to take anything else taught in the history department. Blah, blah, blah, it’s boring; I know. I’m your host, Mr. Hoppus. You guys can call me Hoppus, if you want.” He stood at a podium in front of the white board, looking down at a clipboard. 

“We’re gonna start with attendance, and then I’ll get onto announcements and go over the class’s schedule for the rest of the month. When I call your name please let me know if there’s on ” Hoppus grabbed a pencil and started listing off names alphabetically. Dallon tuned out. 

“Weekes, Dallon?” Dallon snapped out of his thoughts.

“Present,” Hoppus nodded.

“Williams, Hayley?” 

“Here, sir.” Hayley chirped.

“You don’t need to call me sir, Hayley.” He marked his sheet. “York, Taylor?”

“Here, I use they/them pronouns, by the way.” Taylor added.

“Alright, I’ll do my best with that, correct me when I’m wrong.” Hoppus gave what Dallon had a feeling was a standard but true response. 

“Ok, everyone is present and accounted for. Now, announcements. First, you’re going to be divided into two lunch groups, depending on what floor you’re on during third period. You will be given thirty minutes for lunch either at the beginning or end of your class. If you’re on the first floor, you have first lunch. Second floor, second lunch. You might want to write that down. If you need a lunch card and don’t have one already, you can can go see Mr. Cool in the office for one. Any questions about lunch before we move on?” Hoppus interrupted himself. A girl near the back of the room raised her hand.

“What’s up, Sarah, was it?” Hoppus pointed to the girl that Dallon now knew to be Sarah.

“Yes, my name’s Sarah. Do our cards from last year still work?” She asked.

“Unless there were some aliens interfering with it, they should. Anyone else?” Everyone either shook their heads or stayed still, but Dallon realized no one had mentioned using cash to pay for lunch, and today, that was all he had.

“Dallon, right? Go ahead,” Hoppus gestured vaguely towards him.

“Can we pay for lunch with cash?” Dallon asked.

“Yes, you can. If that’s it, there’s an assembly at Friday during fourth in the auditorium. You’re all expected to go, and if you don’t have a reason already registered with Mr. Cool, you will be marked as having skipped the period.” Hoppus warned. Great, Dallon thought, just great.


	2. Early Second Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank couldn't help what his psychiatrist had already diagnosed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not have Intermittent Explosive Disorder, and all I know about the condition comes from experience with friends and research. If I portray it in any way offensively or wrong, please let me know what and how I can fix it as soon as possible. Thanks.  
> Also, Gerard goes by Gee in this story.

Junior year was never supposed to be so hard. Neither Ray, Lindsey, or even Gee had told Frank that there would be this much homework. Or about all the many expectations or how everyone expects best behavior at all times. It wasn’t so much the expectations but the time frame that came with them. Frank was a firm believer in a you-learn-as-you-go mentality.

By second period Poetry with Ms. Grace on the second Tuesday of the year, Frank’s frustration with the different syllabi he had been presented with had grown substantially. Usually Frank was good at keeping calm and asking his teachers the appropriate questions, but it was the second week after all; none of the teachers had time to sit down with him and explain it all. It was the first time he had missed Special Ed classes since his dad had urged his mom to change his IEP to exclude them. 

It’s not like it was Frank’s dad’s fault he was the way he is, oh no. It wasn’t like it hadn’t been proven that one of the causes of Intermittent Explosive Disorder was exposure to explosive behavior at young ages. He had his psychiatrist to thank for that information. But he could also thank her for the meds that usually kept him calm and relatively focused, so he could never actually resent her for that.

Anger, that’s what the frustration was building up to being. Because he couldn’t understand the syllabi, because he couldn’t keep up with the homework. It made him want to slam his hands on the desk and walk out of class. Walk all the way from room #128 to room #209.

#209; Mr. McMahon’s classroom, where Frank had been told he could always come to calm down, even if there were classes inside. At the end of freshman year, Mr. McMahon had pulled Frank aside and said that he was one of his best students; the first time any teacher had told him that. Mr. McMahon had been and was still a father figure like none Frank had had before, even letting Frank stay after school to work with him when he had no meetings or such. 

But on this surprisingly terrible Tuesday, Mr. McMahon had a meeting during his usually free lunch hour. Of course he had a meeting on the first day of the year that Frank needed his help. They had plans to meet after school, but Frank needed to calm down as soon as possible if he was going to make it through the end of the day without incident. And his meds weren’t helping like they’re supposed to. 

Peer support. That’s what Mr. McMahon had always said should be the first thing Frank should look for should he himself not be available. So, where were his friends? Mikey, who had he/him pronouns that day, was with him in Poetry, but he’d never been the best at helping Frank; it tended to trigger his anxiety, and Frank could respect that. Ray, where was he? Biology, a class he needed the credits from. Frank couldn’t jeopardize that. 

Gee. They had a goddamn free period during second, and first lunch with Frank. It was in Frank’s IEP that he could take breaks from classes, and Ms. Grace had never had problems with Frank taking those breaks at the end of class and coming back later to be filled in on what he missed. Frank got up from his seat by the door, looking to Ms. Grace in a silent question of if she was fin with him going. Judging by her firm nod, the answer was yes. 

After having left the classroom, Frank was quick to pull out his phone to text Gee.

Frank: Hey where are you?

Gee: Mr. White’s room. What’s up?

Frank: Need to calm down. Mind if I join you?”

Gee: Come on down

Frank put his phone in his back pocket and made his way to the stairs. The Special Ed. rooms were on the second floor, unlike Ms. Grace’s room. But there were only the two floors, so Frank wouldn’t complain.

Frank felt a sense of calm flow over him when he walked into Mr. White’s room. It wasn’t everything though, because the agitation was still there. The room was empty, save the man himself and Gee. They were sitting at a table in the back of their room, paper and chalk pastels scattered around them. Frank smiled at that, he loved seeing Gee draw. 

“Hey Frank, how are you?” Mr. White looked up from his desktop to greet him.

“I’m good, thanks. Hi Gee,” Frank sat down next to them.

“How can I help you, Frankie?” They asked, pushing a notebook and a pen towards him. “Do you need any guided breathing exercises or anything?” It was standard practice for any of Frank’s friends to ask him during an attack. 

“I think I just need to write right now, thanks though.” Gee nodded and turned back to their drawings.

Frank was always amazed by Gee’s art, and at any other time he would gladly spend hours watching them create it, Frank knew he had to get writing. When medication didn’t work, Frank had had to come up with other coping mechanisms. While meditation and breathing exercises worked sometimes, writing was the most foolproof and Frank’s favorite. 

Writing thoughts down, whether they followed Frank’s life or not, was therapeutic. A word supplied from Frank’s therapist himself. It let him step back from his thought progression. Sometimes it let him single out the source or sources of agitation. Other times it just let him escape from the agitation all together. The writing could take him away for minutes upon hours at a time. 

“Hey Frank, I’m going to go get us some food from the vending machine.” Gee interrupted Frank’s now calm focus. 

“Why?”

“Cause it’s halfway through lunch and you’re gonna get cranky if you don’t get your blood sugar up.” Gee knew him too well, damn. They got up and started trying to fish their wallet out of their bag. 

“Ok. Do you need any singles?” Gee never had less than ten’s in their wallet, if they could ever find it. 

“Yeah, as per usual, I guess.” They laughed as they blushed. Frank took out his wallet and tossed it to them. 

“Take mine, then you can get food actually during lunch hour. Not ten minutes late.” Gee giggled and made their way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	3. 2nd Week and First GSA Meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andy Hurley's favorite part of the beginning of the year was always the first GSA meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, there's been a lot going on.

Andy Hurley had been a founding member of her middle school GSA, so of course it only made sense for her to follow that by joining the previously established GSA of Northfield High.   
And on that Wednesday, it didn’t surprise her that she was the first person to arrive to the first GSA meeting of the year. 

She wasn’t the GSA President like she had always thought she’d be, but she’d lost that chance to a vote, fair and square. She’d lost it to a good friend by the name of Pete Wentz, who had also helped found their middle school GSA. Pete alternated between they/them and he/him pronouns, and had worked just as hard to deserve the title of President as Andy. Probably harder, seeing as how he’d been the one to win. 

Pete was the second person to arrive, carrying plastic bags of chips and juice boxes. He was followed by Hoppus who had stopped being a Mr. to them years ago, returning to his classroom after leaving to get a containers of allergen free cookies from Ms. Grace, who offered her apologies for not being able to attend this semester, and to remind students that she was a safe person to go talk to about gender identity. 

“Hey Andy. Have you got the rest of the snacks, Pete?” Hoppus asked as he and Andy began moving desks to line the walls. 

“Yeah, hopefully we’ll have around the right amount. I sent out the email with the details over the weekend. How many chairs should we do?” Pete helped them shove the last desks away.

“I’ve got just over twenty, so let’s start at that and if any more show they can pull their own seat up.” Hoppus suggested. 

“Sounds good. Any icebreaker suggestions, Andy?” Pete asked.

“Names, pronouns, and favorite dessert. Follow by introducing the GSA’s purpose, then with taking a vote for Great Wind Blows or What Are You Doing? Those are good openers.” She had planned the details of how she’d want to run her first GSA meeting years ago, and after having gotten over the jealousy of Pete winning and not her, had shared them with him too. He’d agreed that her plan was a good one, and was more than happy to use it. 

While they were finishing circling the chairs up more students started to arrive, including Andy and Pete’s friends. Lindsey Ballato, Kitty Dunn, Gee Way, and Ray Toro were the first to come, and had all been in the GSA with them since they were freshmen. They were this year’s GSA Seniors, and were looking forward to helping younger students become more comfortable with their genders and sexualities.

By quarter after two, all but one chair were filled. Andy watched as Pete and Hoppus greeted everyone. They then started their introductions.

“So we’re going to go around and say our names, pronouns, and favorite desserts. I’ll start; I’m Pete, I use he/him pronouns, and I love cookie pizzas.” He gestured to Lindsey, who was sitting next to him. 

“Lindsey, she/her, and I really like cupcakes.” She laughed.

“Kitty, it/its, anything chocolate.” It grinned, teeth showing.

“I’m Ray, today I’m using she/her, but somedays I use he/him, and I also really love chocolate.” She and Kitty smiled at eachother.

“My name is Gee, I use they/them, and ice cream is my vice.” Their eyes crinkled.

“I’m Frank, he/him, and I _love brownies_.” He laughed and winked, sure to over-exaggerate it. Even the nervous freshmen were giggling. 

“Let’s try and keep it PG, guys.” Hoppus scolded. His didn’t look too upset, though.

“Yes sir,” Frank mock-saluted.

“Moving on,” Andy couldn’t help her snicker. “My name is Mikey, I also change my pronouns daily, today it’s they/them. I like oatmeal raisin cookies.” Their answer prompted an uproar over the, in Andy’s opinion, unjust opinion.

“Heathen,”

“How can you like that? It’s utter deceit!”

“I get it, I get it.” Mikey waved their arms around. “It’s weird. But Ray makes really good ones!” They defended. 

“Really?” Asked Joe, who was sitting next to them. “I didn’t know she could bake.” 

“Yeah she’s really good at it,” Gee added.

“Thanks guys, but maybe we should get back to the topic at hand?” Ray pointed to Joe. “Go.” 

“Right, sorry.” Joe really didn’t look sorry. “I use e/em/eir pronouns now,” All of their friend group cheered. This was eir’s first time coming out to people other than close friends. Andy knew she was smiling wildly. “And chocolate croissants are really good.” E looked to Andy, she gave em a proud look and a thumbs up. Everyone was proud of em.

“Hi, I’m Patrick, I use they/them, and I like cake pops.” They ducked their head, hiding their face under their baseball cap. Andy was proud her friend supported the Cubs too. 

“You just like the ones at Starbucks, you basic white girl.” Pete flapped his hands at them. 

“Can you blame them?” Gee giggled.

“I’m Andy,” She interrupted, fearing the consequences of Gee starting to talk about coffee. “I use she/her pronouns, and my favorite would have to be shortbread cookies.”

“Travie, he/him, and since I have a boring reputation to keep up, I’d have to say donuts.” There were small protests towards Pete’s mouth. “Well, it’s true.” His smile was 

“I’m William, I use they/them, and that’s Maja, she use she and her, and she’s a Swedish exchange student.” They introduced. Andy had seen them around before, and knew they were at least a year or two younger than her. 

“Hello,” Maja waved. 

“So glad you two could join us, Bilvy.” Gabe, one of the funniest people Andy knew, leered. 

“Hardee-har-har, Gabe, nice to see you too.” Bill rolled their eyes, Maja looked confused. 

“Bilvy?” She asked.

“Just a nickname,” They answered.

“I’m Gabe, he or they. I too have a fondness for brownies.” Andy voiced her disapproval, and Hoppus could be heard doing the same. 

“I’m Brendon, I alternate between she and they pronouns, and I like double chocolate muffins.” She hit the arm of the person sitting next to her.

“My name’s Spencer, he/him, I like blueberry muffins, and it’s really nice to be here.” He said.

“Big sap,” Bredon murmured.

“I’m Hayley, I use she/her pronouns, and that’s my best friend Taylor, who uses they/them. We both like ice cream.” 

“Dallon, he/him I guess, and I really love pie.” He looked down, Andy figured he was shy. 

“Yes! We are going to get along great!” Pete yelled. 

“I’m Mr. Hoppus, but if you want to make me sound cool by dropping the Mr., go ahead. I use he/him pronouns, and I too love donuts. Now, shall we get started?” 

Andy had to say, she always loved the first GSA of the year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked, next chap is from William Beckett's perspective.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm @idioticsweetheart182 on Tumblr if you want to come say hi.


End file.
